Concrete Repair & Leveling in Harrisburg, PA

Concrete repair and leveling is often the cheaper answer to a sunken walk, a tilted patio or a driveway panel that drops at the garage. HomeGuide's leveling guide puts most leveling at $3 to $12 per square foot, compared with $6 to $15 per square foot to replace a slab. But not every slab can be saved. Around Harrisburg, freeze-thaw, salt and old bases wear down a lot of concrete, and some of it has failed underneath. We look for the cause first, then give you the options and prices side by side.

Match the fix to the damage

• A panel that sank but is still in one piece: usually a candidate for lifting.
• Shallow flaking on a solid slab: a resurfacing layer can give it a new top.
• Hairline cracks: cleaned and sealed to keep water out.
• Cracks wider than 1/4 inch: HomeGuide says these usually point to deeper problems and can come back through a new surface. Those sections usually get replaced.
• Broken edges, corners and step noses: cut out and poured new.
• Crumbling or deeply spalled concrete: replacement.

Lifting: mudjacking and foam

Both methods raise a sunken slab by pumping material underneath through small drilled holes. Mudjacking uses a cement-based slurry. Polyjacking uses expanding foam that is lighter and needs smaller holes. HomeGuide lists mudjacking at $4 to $9 per square foot and foam at $8 to $25, with most contractors charging a minimum of $300 to $700. Its guide says mudjacking typically lasts 5 to 7 years with good drainage, and professionally leveled concrete generally 5 to 10 years or more. Lifting works well on walks, patios, porch slabs and driveway panels.

When a slab keeps sinking

If a section has been lifted before and sank again, something underneath is still moving: a downspout emptying beside it, a leaking pipe, soil washing out, or roots. Parts of the Harrisburg area also sit on limestone and dolomite, the kind of rock Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection associates with karst and sinkholes. When we see repeated settling in one spot, we look at drainage and the ground before we recommend lifting again. Sometimes the right answer is to fix the water problem first, or to replace the section on a new base.

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Resurfacing

Resurfacing bonds a thin new layer to the old concrete. It suits a slab that is level and structurally sound but has flaked from salt and winters. HomeGuide lists basic resurfacing at $3 to $5 per square foot for driveways and $3 to $7 for patios and walkways, and says it lasts 8 to 15 years before needing repairs. It recommends replacement instead when there are large cracks, crumbling, spalling or structural problems, or when the new layer would need to be more than two inches thick.

Replacing just the bad sections

A few broken panels do not always mean a whole new driveway or walk. We saw-cut the bad sections out at the joints, rebuild the base and pour new concrete doweled into the old. New concrete looks lighter than weathered concrete at first and blends in over time. If the bad section is part of the public sidewalk in front of a city property, the owner is responsible for it under Harrisburg's Ordinance 9-107, and the sidewalk permit applies; we handle that.

Keeping repairs working

Seal new cracks as they appear. Point downspouts away from concrete, since water running under a slab is the most common cause of settling. Reseal outdoor concrete every few years and avoid ammonium-based de-icers.